Mission accomplished!

The EndGame GMs Seminar went off without a hitch today. We had 17 people attend and had a great time talking about GMing. I liked that it was an interactive thing and it felt less like simply giving a lecture than it the sharing of knowledge and techniques. We did three 30 minute segments (which all actually ran to 40 minutes) and one two-hour workshop.

I talked about running military games and the response was very positive. It’s a pretty deep subject when you get into it and I was only able to really hit on one aspect of it (chain of command in games), but since that’s usually the one thing that people have the most trouble with it was worth addressing up front.

Most of my advice is actually somewhat obvious when you actually step back and identify what the problems are. When you realize what the issues are, and how they make playing a military RPG a different experience than other genre RPGs, you can address them. Once you get over these hurdles, it all comes together.

I think the best comments I heard about my presentation afterward was, “I never really considered running a military game before today, but now I’m all fired up to try it!”

So, mission accomplished!

Warming up, Rogue Trader and the GM Seminar

I always seem to have something in the works. Right now I’ve been focused on cleaning up my Godlike TOG302 adventure for DunDraCon. In that regard I’ve basically just spruced up the presentation.

I was really impressed with the character folders Wayne had for his Laundry game, so I got some similar folders and everything went into those. I also fixed up the character sheets with new images, checked them over for mistakes/omissions/inconsistencies/etc. And I made some inserts for these plastic photo stands that Jack (and now Wayne) both use that are absolutely great for use at the table (since everyone can see both the character’s name and image).

I’m also thinking about how to run the adventure itself. My game was slotted for 8AM (yes, really) at DDC, so I’m expecting lots of people to drag themselves in late or simply not show up. Jeezus, the earliest I’ve ever started a game in three decades of gaming was 9AM, so this is going to be a first…

Anyway, I’m looking at the adventure and figuring out “landmarks” for pacing purposes. For example, I know the big raid on Rabaul Harbor is a big complex battle and took about 2 1/2 hours in playtest. Since I only have 6 hours for the whole game, and the first hour is going to explanations and shaking things down and all that, I’ve really got 5 hours. But this is a simple game really. It starts with some roleplaying and character building opportunities the night before the raid. Then there’s the briefing, launch and flight to the target, and finally the attack itself. So the first two parts get about an hour each, and the attack squadrons need to be going in around 11Am and noon at the latest.

But aside from some tinkering here and there, that’s ready to go.

All the thinking about Godlike has me researching the Long Range Desert Group and getting started on an adventure based on the activities of this famous unit. The trucks and other vehicles may not be as sexy as a tank (if a tank is sexy), but when you start reading about them they are pretty cool. If that doesn’t convince you then there is this:

And this:

So if the thought of bearded British badasses driving around the desert in jeeps and trucks with Vickers machineguns all over them doesn’t float your boat, I can’t help you!

I also played Rogue Trader today, which was fun. I’m digging the scale of the game and I like that the PCs are the top dogs on the ship and still getting their hands dirty doing stuff. I’m learning a lot of things that I will apply when the time comes to run the Rogue Trader part of my own 40K campaign.

Finally, the EndGame GMs Seminar only has 9 seats left! If you’re sitting on the fence about this, don’t sit too long!

EndGame GM Seminar!

Myself and a few other EndGame regulars will be doing a GMing seminar at the store on March 19! here’s the text from the flyer we handed out at the Minicon today.

I know not many people read this blog that don’t already know about this, but if you’d like to attend, shoot an email to the address listed below!

Should be fun!

EndGame Presents

The GMs Seminar

Saturday, March 19

At EndGame

10AM – 4:30PM

Fee: $20

Join the EndGame community of GMs for a day of discussion and workshops about running roleplaying games!

Brian Isikoff, Ryan Macklin, Mike Montesa and Sean Nittner will be on hand to share their experiences and advice

for getting the most out of your game, your players, and yourself!

Spin Up the Jump Drive: Gaining Player Buy-in and Team Building at the Table, with Brian Isikoff

Having trouble getting a campaign started up and firing on all cylinders? Brian shows you how to get everyone

involved and invested in the game.

Fall in! Running Military Themed RPGs, with Mike Montesa

Have you ever watched a movie like Saving Private Ryan, The Great Escape, or a TV show like Band of Brothers

and wanted to do something like that in a game? And then you thought, naw, it’ll never work? Mike will discuss

ways of achieving the drama of a good war story, and touching on things like handling chain-of-command,

adventure design and other issues and challenges specific to roleplaying in the context of a military setting.

Practical Props, with Sean Nittner

At the table, in nearly every game, is the opportunity to turn generic components into props that reinforce the

themes and flavor of your game. Sean will be talking about converting over all your generic basics like dice,

character sheets, and in game currencies into tailored props that help the game come alive and act as constant

reinforcement of the setting to the players.

Bringing your ‘A’ Game, a GM Workshop by Ryan Macklin

Ryan Macklin will run a 2-hour, hands-on workshop on GMing techniques, based on the problems you’re dealing

with today. He’ll help you find ways to address problems with preparation, dealing with people at the table, and

executing a smooth session. Get and keep your players hooked on your game while making your GMing easier

with Ryan’s help

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To register for the seminar, send an email to:

EndGameGMSeminar@gmail.com

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In the subject line put: EndGame GM Seminar Registration

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Please include your full name.

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After I receive your email, I will send you a PayPal request for the registration fee. Once you have paid the fee, you’ll receive confirmation as a seminar attendee.

Doors open at 10am and the seminar begins at 11am. Coffee and pastries available for registered

attendees. Seminar materials will be provided but bring your own notebook!

Space is limited to 25 attendees, so don’t wait to sign up!